Cabinet Gorge
Fish HatcheryCabinet Gorge hatchery
is located in Bonner County in north Idaho. To reach this hatchery take State
Highway 200 east from the town of Sandpoint to the town of Clark Fork. In Clark
Fork, turn right onto the county road signed with the Cabinet Gorge Hatchery signs.
Follow the signs for approximately 5 miles east along the south side of the Clark
Fork river to the entrance of the hatchery.

The Cabinet
Gorge Hatchery is primarily a kokanee fry production station with capacity to
rear 15 million two inch long fry. These fish are to help mitigate for the construction
of the Albeni Falls Dam that raises the lake level of Lake Pend Oreille and
the Cabinet Gorge dam that backs up Noxon Reservoir into Montana. During 1998
Cabinet Gorge released 2,483,700 kokanee fry. The kokanee fry release is timed
to coincide with the altered cycles of zooplankton blooms in the lake caused
by Mysis sp. shrimp.

Cabinet Gorge Hatchery is
recognized by the surrounding communities as the major contributor of kokanee
to the Lake Pend Oreille fishery. The importance of this lake fishery to the local
economy is presently estimated at over five million dollars. The hatchery has
been the focus of many radio, television, and newspaper stories in recent years.
With the decline of kokanee numbers in recent years, even more attention is placed
on the hatchery.Written and compiled by Jacqueline
Harvey 1999.